Decisions, decisions...

When I first started my midwifery journey, I had no idea what I was doing. I figured I'd get into school, get my pre-reqs done and things would just fall into place. My tentative plan was to get my Associates Degree in Nursing from Spokane Community College, get a Bachelor's degree in *whatever* at one of the four-year colleges (while working as a nurse), and then go on to get my Master's in Midwifery from the University of Pennsylvania.

That plan has totally fallen apart.

Spokane Community College lost their accreditation for their nursing program. "No prob," I thought. "I will just get my direct transfer associates degree and then get my Bachelor's in nursing at the downtown WSU campus."

Turns out, though, that it's a hard school to get into. They only accept 60 students twice a year, and you have to have a year of schooling at one of the four years to be competitive. (WSU, Eastern, or Whitworth.) That's pretty inconvenient because they're either A) far, far away, or B) hellabombastic expensive. And I only have a little over a year before I get my direct transfer A.A. anyway so I'd have to apply and get accepted and get my financial aid all figured out, like, yesterday.

Going through school and listening to the people who work in the medical field already made me realize - I don't want to be a nurse! I want to be a midwife, dammit! My passion is women, helping them create a loving and joyful birth experience!

I have been tearing myself to pieces trying to figure out what to do when suddenly I got an email from Bastyr University. They were one of the midwifery schools I had gotten info from ages ago. They're just north of Seattle and specialize in a more holistic approach to medicine. I rejected them, though, because at the time they didn't have a Master's program in Midwifery. Well, guess what? They now have a combined Bachelor's/Master's program!

It's not a certified nurse midwife degree. It's a direct entry midwife degree, but I could always go back later for an A.A. in Nursing. It would cut a couple of years off my schooling. I'd have to travel back and forth to Seattle quite often but that's not too big of a problem. And I'd be doing something I love instead of getting through years of nursing school just to get to my Midwifery classes...

My biggest worry is that I have to go back and get my doula certification again, and a child birth educator cert from DONA. (My doula certification is from Childbirth International, not recognized by Bastyr, unfortunately.) That's going to cost a pretty penny, and hat with full-time work and full-time school already, I don't know when I'm going to be able to fit doula/CBE training in to my schedule.

My heart is saying Bastyr... My logical Virgo brain is saying I should probably get my nursing degree first. I'm not sure which way to go... Any thoughts?